The Admiral's Insigne
by secretcastle
Summary: Before he entered the academy as a teenage cadet, the off-worlder Chakotay encounters his first adventure in Mars with a Starfleet brat.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer:**__ Nothing is mine. Star Trek Voyager belongs to Paramount and Pocketbooks. I just like borrowing their characters. _

_**A/N: **__This story is initially set post-Voyager, but no longer follows the events in bookverse from "Before Dishonor" and beyond. I based most of this story's details from "Mosaic" and "Pathways" by Jeri Taylor and Christie Golden's "Seduced" from the "Tales from the Captain's Table" collection. There are some disparities in the details between the two authors regarding Chakotay's background, but I tend to follow Golden's details since hers actually match with canon and makes better sense. _

**The Admiral's Insigne**

**Prologue**

Captain Chakotay carefully adjusted the fourth pip on his collar for what he thought maybe the last time. He smiled at his own reflection. There were more flecks of gray on his hair than he could count and the lines on his face clearly betrayed his age.

_I'm an old man,_ he thought. _But a happy old man. _

And why shouldn't he be happy? In few minutes he will be getting a new insigne to replace his pips on that spot. It was his dream ever since he was fifteen and first entered Starfleet.

Vice Admiral.

He never thought he would make it this far. At least not after he resigned his commission and joined the Maquis. And then he got lost for seven years in the Delta Quadrant where the chances of getting home alive, much less get promoted where next to nil. But the spirits blessed him more than he could be thankful for. They got home. He and the rest of the Maquis got full pardons. He was given captaincy of the Voyager. And most of all he gained the love of an exceptional woman.

He was content enough with what he had. But fate was more generous when Kathryn gave him the news of his promotion last week. It would mean leaving Voyager to settle for a cushy desk job and a teaching post at Starfleet Academy. It may not be as exciting as deep space mission exploration but it allowed him to see Kathryn everyday. He happily accepted.

His comm badge chimed and Lyssa Campbell's voice came through: _"Bridge to Captain Chakotay. The Admiral is here. She's in your ready room. " _

"I'll go meet her there."

"_Acknowledged, Captain. We'll be starting in ten minutes."_

"_We'll be there. Chakotay out." _

Chakotay noticed Lyssa emphasized the word "Captain Chakotay." He would miss being called that and he supposed Lyssa will miss it too. But she will just have to start getting used to saying "Captain Kim" after tonight.

He left his quarters and walked to his ready room. The office doors slid open at his approach.

"Ready Kath—" the words died on his mouth as he took in the sight of his office. His padds were littered on the desk and the couch on the far end was upturned. Various pieces of his sparse furniture had been pushed aside carelessly. And in the middle of it all, the Admiral—the obvious culprit of this mess was on her hands and knees searching his floor. It was rather an undignified position for her status, especially when she was all set in her finest dress uniform. Her rear end was just jutting in his direction and he couldn't help but pause to admire it.

"Kathryn, I know this used to be your ready room but I do appreciate it if you tell me before you decide to redecorate."

Her head popped up from the floor. She looked up at him with her hair sticking out in a messy way. "I'm missing my insigne. It must have fallen somewhere here," she said. "Help me look."

"No time. We're starting in ten minutes," he told her. "We're needed on the bridge."

"I'm aware of that," she said irritably. "Or I would have replicated one." She crawled under the table and began searching there. She bumped her head in the process. "Ouch!"

Chakotay immediately went down to check on her.

"Are you alright?"

She held her hand on her head where she bumped it. "I'm fine!" she snapped before her tone softened. "I'm sorry Chakotay. This is your day and I'm messing it. Of all the days for me to be careless…" She rubbed her sore head. Chakotay offered her a hand, pulled her up then helped her to sit on the couch before she could injure herself further.

He knew Kathryn wouldn't dare go out into the bridge for his promotional ceremony with her insigne missing. But searching for it right now in all this mess would be futile. Replicating a new one took too long as insignes and pips were made of a combination of rare alloys that were harder to reproduce. An idea suddenly formed on his head.

"Just sit down Kathryn. I can help."

He went to the door.

"There's no time to replicate one," she complained.

"I'm not going to," he said. "Just sit there and give me two minutes."

He left before she could reply. He went to the turbo lift and instructed it to go down two decks below. He reached his quarters in seconds. He went over to the desk and pulled the bottom drawer. He immediately found what he was looking for: a tiny box. He opened it and took out a single tiny Vice Admiral's insigne. It was old and there was a tiny chip on one of its tiny gold dots. But it wasn't noticeable from afar. It would have to do for Kathryn for the moment.

As he fingered it, flashes of memory of the day he obtained it came to his mind…


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

Chakotay could hardly contain his excitement as he watched the U.S.S. Mandela approached the landing platform of the Utopia Planetia. He had seen this Mars-based shipyard from a distance when he travelled to Earth with his father two years ago. He wasn't able to get a good look then. But now he had the most magnificent view of the station towering over the red colony planet. The large flanks of steel, the interconnecting tunnels and the enormous number of ships that flew in and off the numerous docks all gave an aura of awesome grace and power.

_One day, I'll be the captain of one of those ships,_ Chakotay told himself with all the wishful hopes of his seventeen years. _Or maybe even an Admiral commanding an entire fleet. _

"Enjoying the view?" the familiar soft spoken voice called up to him. Chakotay looked up to meet the eyes of his recent mentor, his Starfleet sponsor Captain Demora Sulu.

Chakotay wanted to shout out his excitement and interject something like "It's wonderful!" or "This is magnificent!" But he didn't want to sound overenthusiastic like a naïve little boy. So instead he merely replied, "Yes, sir" in an even voice.

The pretty Asian woman looked apologetic. "You sound disappointed. I know you're excited to go to Starfleet Academy immediately to get settled, but I have orders from Starfleet Command to attend this conference on Mars for the next two days. I'm sure you can find some sights to see during the time."

Chakotay was immediately worried that he said the wrong thing. "Oh no… I'm not disappointed at all, Captain. I'm glad we stopped by. I'd love to see the shipyards, the ports, and the quarries," he said and this time he let his genuine enthusiasm show.

"I thought you might," Captain Sulu smiled at him. "Well I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to explore the Planetia and even Mars itself. It will give you time to soak up on the Starfleet culture and perhaps make a few friends. It's the holiday season and a lot of people are coming in for vacations, mostly families of Starfleet officers. I'm sure there are a few young people your age out there."

"I hope so," Chakotay replied. But he thought that even if he didn't meet anyone out there, it wasn't going to stop him from having a good time.

"Well, I'll leave you to enjoy the view. I'm needed back on the bridge. We'll be docking in fifteen minutes. Be at the transporter room then."

"Yes. Thank you, Captain," Chakotay said gratefully, not for the first time. He waited for her to disappear out the swishing doors before he turned his attention again to the window.

This was his world and it was all his for the taking. He had a good feeling this was only the beginning.

***

Twenty minutes later Chakotay stepped off into the transporter platform on the operations center on the surface of Mars. Much like the Mandela's bridge, the ops center was hub of activity with a fascinating assortment of consoles, flashing lights and tools. Chakotay was curious to explore every bit of technology he could see but the transport staff hurried him out to make way for the rest of the crew beaming down from the Planetia. There was nothing to do but to move along. He took in as much as he could of the neat gray corridors until he finally stepped out of the building complex.

He expected to see a vast undisturbed plain of red earth that stretched on as far as the eye can see towards Olympus Mons, the tallest mountain on Mars visible from space. Instead he found his senses invaded by a barrage of sight and sound of a busy town port. He realized that the romanticized version of Mars that he read about in padds and saw through the holo-images could only be seen outside the biosphere habitat that housed the ops center building. Here, in the heart of the colony, it was no different from the busy marketplaces in the cities of the Central American continent where he had been to two years earlier.

Dozens of different species in all shapes and sizes that came to disembark or board their respective ships gathered here. The noise was deafening as people greeted, talked and pushed aside each other. He heard their spoken words in Federation standard of course due to the universal translator. Yet the way they spoke or their gestures of greetings and farewells were so varied and incomprehensible. Chakotay suddenly felt the enormity of his own ignorance of this vast galaxy he lived in. He felt a twinge of resentment for his tribe for the isolation they imposed upon him all these years when he could have been soaking in this limitless array of cultures. He promised himself he would pursue studies on the traditions of as many varied races as he can encounter.

He continued to stare around him. Most of those in the crowd appeared to be human and many were wearing Starfleet uniforms. He watched them in clear fascination as they confidently strode in and out of the dock. He tried to imagine himself as one of them.

He remembered the combadge that the captain had kindly given him earlier before he transported down to the planet. "To make sure you stay in touch and you report back to the ship on time," she told him. He had put it hurriedly in his pocket then. But now he took it out and affixed it to his chest. He imagined himself a stately officer in command red.

His daydream was interrupted when he was roughly jostled by someone from behind him.

"Move along boy!" shouted a tall alien with rough grayish-green skin and what appeared to be horns stuck on his face. Chakotay had no idea what species he was, but he was too frightened except to gape and stare at the creature.

"I said move boy! Are you idiot? You're not supposed to clog the walkways!" The alien shoved him harder that he almost fell to the ground.

Chakotay caught his balance in time. He looked up in surprise as he realized he caught the attention of a few people behind the rude alien. He felt his cheeks warming in embarrassment. He noticed some of the ones that turned to look were human children. They stared at him oddly, as if they too thought he was an idiot. There was one particular child—a golden haired little boy that looked no older than four years old who continued to stare at him long after the others had moved on.

Chakotay knew it was childish of him, but he couldn't help but glare at the little boy. But the toddler only grinned at him cheekily as if to tell him that he knew more of this world than Chakotay did. He held up something shiny that he carried in his hand. Chakotay saw that it was a tiny model of a starship.

"Come along, Thomas," a tall elegant woman with the same golden curls picked up the little boy. "Look, there's Daddy," Chakotay heard her say.

Chakotay watched the woman move forward with the toddler in her arms towards a man in a Starfleet uniform. The boy squirmed in his mother's arms so he was facing Chakotay. He continued to smirk at him in the same impish manner and showed off his brilliant starship toy until he disappeared in the crowd with his family.

Chakotay couldn't help but be jealous of the boy. He had the advantage of a family in Starfleet. He wouldn't be denied the use of Federation technology. Replicators, starships, shipyards—that little boy was already familiar with them at his age, while he Chakotay was only discovering them now. He thought what a waste of his childhood years had been when he was forced to sit up and memorize old worthless legends and go through meditations to walk with spirits when he could be learning so much more.

He felt the crowd moving again behind him and this time he went forward. He wasn't eager for another shoving or an embarrassing reprimand. He walked at a leisurely pace, careful not to let himself get caught in the tide. He didn't exactly know where to go. He felt out of place yet he wanted to take in the sights as much as possible.

He finally stepped out of the dock and found himself in a long stretch of a promenade lined with bazaars. Here the noise was even louder. Merchants and shoppers shouted and haggled. There were colored lights and signs pointing to shops, restaurants and a dozen other attractions he couldn't even understand. He paused at a corner that was away from the flowing traffic of people to observe it all. There was so much to see, so much to do. He wished he had more than two days to explore. He didn't know where to start.

A sudden flash of red caught his eye. He followed it with his gaze and realized he was looking at a young girl with strikingly red hair that shone through the crowd. She was following a tall man in a Starfleet uniform with his back turned towards Chakotay. When she turned slightly, he saw her face. She wasn't exactly attractive. In fact she looked quite plain and he would never notice her in a crowd of other girls. She appeared to be around twelve or thirteen years old. Yet something about the way she carried herself made her appear more mature. She exuded a confidence that was similar to the little boy he saw earlier. They both seemed to say they knew exactly where they belonged.

She turned slightly. Her gaze met his and she stared back at him. Her eyes were an intense blue and he felt as if she was assessing him somehow. Then she suddenly turned away and went on her way as if nothing happened.

Chakotay frowned. Somehow her dismissive manner felt like a personal insult.

He heard a chuckle behind him and looked up to see a tall sandy haired young man in a yellow Starfleet uniform. Chakotay immediately recognized him as Crewman Sommers, one of the Mandela's young engineers. Chakotay struck an easy friendship with him when he first stepped onboard. Sommers told him he was a native of Sierra, a Federation colony planet near Chakotay's home planet Dorvan. Like Chakotay, Sommers rarely left his homeworld until he joined Starfleet as a non-commissioned officer. He was always willing to share stories and never hesitated to answer any of Chakotay's questions.

"She is way out of your league kid," he said. "At least, right now. That girl is a Starfleet brat. She's the daughter of some high ranking officer and she'll be living in the exclusive officers' quarters for the rest of her holiday. She gets to socialize with the rest of the brass so don't expect to get a date with her."

"I wasn't thinking—" Chakotay began but Sommers cut him off as if he didn't hear him

"You see 'Fleet brats think a bit superior than most, especially with us off-worlders. By the time she gets to your age, she'll have a place waiting for her at the Academy."

"I thought Starfleet allows equal opportunities for all Federation citizens to join up, even if you're an off-worlder?" Chakotay asked.

"Of course they do," replied Sommers. "But it couldn't help to get somebody to back you up. I mean look at you? If Captain Sulu hadn't come along to sponsor you, you think you'd even get a chance?"

Chakotay had to acknowledge that Sommers was right. He wouldn't have even conceived the idea of trying out for Starfleet if he hadn't been curious enough to approach Captain Sulu when he met her.

"But just you wait, kid," Sommers said as he patted Chakotay's back. "When you become a Starfleet officer, girls like that will come crawling at your feet. Most of the 'Fleet brats either get into Starfleet as officers or they marry into it. There's just something about the uniform, see?"

Chakotay couldn't help but grin at that.

"Come on kid, let me show you around," Sommers offered. "I've got a couple of hours before I have to get back on duty."

Chakotay gratefully accepted and was glad for it. Sommers proved to be an excellent guide. He showed Chakotay the interesting bazaars and the other more fascinating areas in the colony. They reached the peripheries of the biosphere and Sommers pointed out the man-made quarries, left by the mining projects when Mars was still being colonized for habitation. Chakotay took note of the swimming sites and hoped he had time in the next three days to get a chance to swim in it. Sommers promised to try to find some time with his other crewmates to take him there. Chakotay absorbed it all in eager fascination and Sommers didn't seem to mind the least about his curiosity. He answered all of Chakotay's hundreds of questions about everything and seemed to delight in sharing his knowledge.

"We have time for one last stop before my shift starts," Sommers told him. "How would you like to put those pool skills I've been teaching you to practice?"

Sommers and the other crew members of the Mandela had taught him to shoot pool on the holodeck during their trip to Mars. Chakotay had immediately gotten the hang of it and even managed to beat out some of his teachers. He enjoyed the game immensely and he thought the idea was a splendid way to end the day.

"I'm taking you somewhere few Starfleet people know about, but only if you can keep a secret. And that includes the Captain," Sommers told him.

Chakotay could feel a tinge of worry that Sommers was taking him somewhere Captain Sulu wouldn't approve. But he didn't want to sound like an overly obedient child after Sommers had treated him like an adult. So he readily accepted and promised not to say a word.

They came to a bar quite a distance from the Starfleet complex. The place hung heavily of smoke and was noisy with civilian patrons drinking beverages while playing over several pool tables. There wasn't a single Starfleet officer in sight.

"I thought you might like to try a bit more of a challenge," Sommers whispered to him. "You're a natural at the game you know. The two of us can beat a game or two here and earn us a bit."

Chakotay didn't exactly understand what Sommers meant about "earning a bit" but he nodded anyway.

"Alright, we go for the next game then," Sommers said. "I'll go enter us."

He went up to talk to someone at the pool table. Chakotay eyed his companion for a moment before his attention was suddenly caught by a humanoid female dressed in what appeared to be the barest of sparkling cloth. The women in his tribe had always been modestly dressed. He had never seen a woman in this much… or rather less. He followed her with his gaze until she disappeared into a corridor beyond the pool tables. He immediately forgot about Sommers. He curiously followed the way the woman went. He discovered the corridor was longer than he would expect from the façade of the bar. It finally ended at a closed door.

He pushed it open and found himself at a large busy room made of two floor levels. He couldn't see past the staircases that led to the upper floor. But the lower floor was filled with small tables were several people gathered over. In the center of each table a wheel was being spun by one of the humanoid females that were attired in similarly revealing costumes. He could tell it was some form of betting game as the people surrounding them would put chips on areas of the wheel and would enthusiastically shout: "Dabo!"

The girl he saw earlier settled on one of the tables and was sitting in a rather enticing position near one of the players. He moved forward towards her but a man blocked his path. He appeared human except that he had a ridge that rose from his nose to his forehead. Chakotay searched his mind in a way to identify the man's species.

"You like what you see?" the man said. "I can get you in a holosuite with her and a dozen other recreations like her."

Someone grabbed his shoulder and he turned to see Sommers.

"I turn my back for two seconds and you're gone. You shouldn't be here. You're a little too young for this," he whispered to Chakotay before turning to the alien that spoke to him.

"He's not interested," Sommers said firmly. "We're just here to play pool and we got a bit lost."

But the alien just gave him a sly smile. "Let the lad look. No harm."

Chakotay finally recognized the alien as a Farian. He had read about them and knew they were rather dubious business traders with a history involving the shady Orion syndicate. He also knew the Farian weren't allowed concessions in Federation territory so this back establishment had to be illegal. He suddenly realized why Sommers didn't want him telling anyone about this place. He felt a sudden fear. He shouldn't be here. He hadn't even gotten into the academy yet. He shouldn't be breaking rules so soon.

The Farian leaned over so only Chakotay can hear. "I give discounts for first timers."

"No thank you," Chakotay said firmly in the most confident voice he could muster. He had an idea of what exactly the Farian was offering and he had no intention of taking up on the offer. He knew enough from his studies just how to deal with these kinds of traders. "I'm not really interested and even if I was, I don't have any credits with me," he said honestly. He held up his hands to show he had empty pockets.

"Perhaps your friend can loan you some?" the Farian insisted.

Sommers shook his head and was about to say something but Chakotay beat him to it: "He can't loan me any. His credits are wired from Starfleet. Unless you want Starfleet tracing them to an illegal gaming establishment, do you?"

The Farian backed away and shrugged. "Too bad. But do come back when you earned your _non-wired _Starfleet credits. We're always happy to serve."

He made a generous bow. Chakotay didn't return it but instead turned back to the door with Sommers at his heels without a word.

"Kid, I'm impressed with you," Sommers said when they were back to the pool hall. You handled that well. Best way to get rid of a salesman is to tell him you don't have spending power. And the threat was spot on."

"I was bluffing," Chakotay admitted but turned to Sommers with a hint of mild irritation. "Or was I? Is this an illegal gambling house?"

Sommers shook his head. "Nothing gets past you, kid. Captain Sulu was right. Four years from now, I might be calling you 'sir' at the rate you're going."

"Is it?" Chakotay insisted.

"Well the pool hall and the bar are completely legal," Sommers replied. "But of course the Dabo games and the holosuites at the back aren't. I wasn't really going to tell you about them but I guess you already found out yourself." Sommers looked at him seriously. "Look, kid, I really hope you won't tell anyone about this. I know it's a bit seedy but it would be a shame to lose this establishment just because of the Farian business at the back. Some of the best pool players come here and it's a great place to get away from Starfleet once in a while. Believe me, years from now when you're wearing the uniform too long, there will be times when you want to get away from the protocols once in awhile."

Chakotay considered this. There was really no harm in having a little fun as long as they stayed here in the legal part of establishment. And Sommers did treat him like an adult by just bringing him here. He didn't want to lose that friendship.

"Alright, let's just forget about it and play pool," Chakotay finally said.

"Great," Sommers replied.

They went on to play with two men in one of the tables. As the pool hall was legal, Sommers used his credits to place bets on their pool game with their opponents. Chakotay immediately understood what he meant earlier by "earning a bit." Chakotay didn't think the gamble was any harm either though he wished he had a few credits of his own to spend. But Sommers promised to divide their winnings.

Two hours later, Chakotay earned a few credits for himself and was immensely pleased with the three out of four games he won with Sommers over some of the local patrons. He was all set for a fifth game when Sommers announced that it was almost time for his shift back at the Mandela. Chakotay was having too much fun and asked to stay a while.

"I think you're smart enough to stay out of trouble," Sommers replied. "Got your combadge?"

Chakotay tapped the badge on his chest.

"Good. Don't lose too much and report back to the ship before 2300."

"Aye, sir," Chakotay said to him.

Sommers smiled and left him to his game. Chakotay won another round then lost the next. He thought it was time to turn in but decided to order a drink before he did. He went to the bar and decided to try that Klingon coffee he read about in his history of Alpha Quadrant cultures.

He took one sip at the raktajino and resolved never to touch it again. He couldn't even take plain coffee unless he had at least two sugars to go with it. He put the drink down and was about to order a tea when he felt someone sit on the stool beside him.

He turned to look and almost fell out of his seat in surprise. It was the redheaded girl he saw outside the Starfleet complex.

***

_**A/N:**__ Just a few personal notes: _

_I initially wanted the back of the bar to be a Ferengi establishment. But when I checked the Star Trek guide, it turns out the Federation didn't make official first contact with the Ferengi until 2364. It would be nearly impossible to have Ferengi in a colony planet in the Sol system until after that date. The Farian however, do have an earlier history with the Federation though they are presumably not members owing to their high crime rates, legalized prostitution and use of currency even up to the 2370s. They were mentioned in DS9 as still involved with the Orion Syndicate as late as 2374. _

_As for Federation currency, it's a bit ambiguous. In the Original Series, Gene Rodenberry conceptualized that the Federation didn't have money anymore. Of course onboard Voyager their trade-able currency among the crew were the rations they had allotted for each person to use the holodecks and replicators. But back in the alpha quadrant, they use credits that I presume can be converted to some other currency like the lek or latinum. I mean how else did the crew of DS9 manage to patronize the shops on the promenade if they didn't get paid by Starfleet something that can be converted to latinum? _


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Chakotay didn't know why but he felt his breath hitch at the sight of her. He knew it was impolite to stare but he couldn't help himself. Now that she was nearer he could see her features more clearly. She had bright blue eyes that suited her messy red hair held tight by a single ponytail. Her nose and inner cheeks were dotted with tiny reddish brown freckles and her lips were a pretty tinge of pink.

She appeared to be taking in the bar and studying the busy pool tables. When she caught the Bolian bartender heading her way, she quickly diverted her attention to the beverage list and pretended to study the menu.

"What will it be?" the Bolian bartender approached her.

"Well… uhh…" she looked confused for a moment before her nose sniffed. "That smells wonderful." Chakotay realized she was referring to his abandoned coffee. "What is it?"

"Raktajino," the bartender told her.

"Alright, I'll have one," she said. Her voice was firm, almost commanding.

Chakotay almost lost his nerve, but at the same time he saw an opening. "You can have mine," he offered.

The girl suddenly seemed to be aware of his presence for the first time. She stared at him curiously. If she recognized him from this afternoon, she didn't show it.

"I'm sorry?" she said to him.

He pushed his steaming cup towards her. "I barely touched it," he explained.

The girl pulled back slightly and gave him a doubtful expression. "I'm sorry I don't accept drinks from strangers."

Chakotay suddenly felt like an idiot. Of course she wouldn't accept his drink. She probably thought he was trying to drug her.

"Well… I… I'll just drink it then," he said rather stupidly. He grabbed his mug, took a huge gulp and almost choked on it. It took all his willpower to keep his expression neutral as he let the strong coffee slide down his throat.

Meanwhile, the bartender handed a fresh cup to the girl. She sipped it carefully then gave a slight shiver.

"Oh that was strong, but it's good," she said. She took another satisfying sip and her face registered obvious pleasure.

Her expression alone convinced Chakotay to give his own cup another try. He took a careful sip. It didn't taste any better than the first two times he tried it and he was baffled at how she can find this drink so enjoyable.

"I have to hand it to the Klingons. They make a good coffee," she told the rather cheerful bartender.

"That they do," the bartender replied before peering at her closely. "But aren't you a little too young to be drinking that in here at this time?"

"Not so young," she replied in her clear steady voice. "I just came in for a game of pool."

"You're in luck, that table there's empty," the bartender pointed. "But I don't think anyone's interested in playing along with you," he added rather condescendingly

Chakotay noticed that it was true. All the other patrons were occupied with their own games at the other tables. And they were a lot older. Certainly no one would be interested in taking up a game with a child. But Chakotay immediately realized his second chance.

"I'll play you," he offered.

She gave him another doubtful look and for a moment he thought she would say no. But then she got out of her seat. "Alright."

Chakotay wanted to ask her name but decided it would be better to let her get comfortable with a game first. He didn't want to frighten her by being too forward. He grabbed a cue from the sideboard.

"Your stick?" she asked rather innocently.

He gave her an amused smile at her ignorance. "It's called a cue." He handed it over carefully. She studied it as if she had never beheld one before.

Chakotay took a second cue from the board just as the bartender sided up to him and whispered softly.

"Now, I've seen you play and you're good. Be nice to her, alright. Let her win a few."

Chakotay smiled his assent then turned to the girl. "Solids and stripes?" he asked. "I mean we choose to pocket only either the solid balls or the stripes," he explained for her benefit and she nodded in understanding. "Do you know how to break?" he asked her.

"I'll give it a try," she replied.

Chakotay let her.

She positioned herself then let lose the cue ball. It was a solid break, but none of the balls fell into the pocket.

"Too bad," she pouted. "Your turn."

"I'll take stripes then," Chakotay explained, just in case she didn't understand at all. He pocket his first two striped balls. He deliberately missed the third and put the cue in an easy position for the first solid ball just to give the girl a chance.

She eagerly took her turn and gave a small gleeful cry when she pocketed the easy first ball. She moved to the second but then paused just before she moved.

"How about we make it interesting?" she asked him.

"What do you have in mind?"

"If I win, you pay for my Raktajino," she said. "If you win, I pay for yours."

Chakotay thought he would be willing to part with all the credits he earned tonight and buy her another half a dozen cups of Klingon coffee just to keep playing with her. An idea formed in his mind on how he would teach her a few techniques. He could show her how to calculate the trajectory of the cue ball and how to apply the right amount of force to knock its target. It would allow him to get close to her—close enough to touch that red hair he found so fascinating.

"Alright," he said.

"It's a deal then." She repositioned herself back to the table. She took a shot and pocketed her second ball. But she didn't stop there. She also pocketed the third, fourth, and even the difficult fifth in rapid succession. The sixth was nearly impossible to pocket. So she pulled in a safety and hid the cue from his next target. He promptly missed and she was back in the game. Chakotay stared at her in bewilderment as she cleared out the rest of her balls without missing a beat.

"I win!" she declared triumphantly.

"Kid, I think you just got hustled," the amused bartender whispered to him

"Where did you learn to play like that?" one of patrons who had gathered around their table asked. Halfway through the game, the other players noticed what was going on at their table and abandoned their own games to watch Chakotay get soundly beaten.

"I get around," she said confidently. "Another game?"

This time, she had no trouble getting opponents. A young Andorian quickly offered to pair with her against two burly humans.

Chakotay suddenly felt slighted. He moved away from the pool table and sat back by the bar. He remembered what Sommers said about Starfleet brats feeling superior. That girl just proved it. He knew it was illogical but he imagined that she must have remembered seeing him this afternoon, recognized him as an off-worlder new recruit and decided to go out of her way to prove his inferiority, even on a stupid game of pool.

The Bolian bartender came up to him with a sympathetic expression. "Hey, don't be too hard on yourself. I bet you can take her down on the next round now you know what to expect."

"Why bother?" he said sourly. "I just want to pay up. I'll settle hers as well."

"Suit yourself,' the Bolian said and held out a padd.

Chakotay pressed his thumb on it to transfer his credits. He then downed his Raktajino, his anger making him ignore the bile taste. He was about to leave when he saw the earlier female he followed to the backroom emerge in a huff. Chakotay saw she had unusual ridges on the bridge of her nose. He couldn't identify her species at all based on his readings. The Farian appeared and followed after her. This time there was no trace of friendliness on the seedy salesman's face. He roughly grabbed at her arm just as she passed near Chakotay.

"Don't you dare walk away from me!" the Farian shouted at her. Chakotay was startled at the sheer violence of his tone.

"Let me go! I'm leaving!" the girl cried.

Her cry disrupted the games. Some of the hall patrons turned to stare at them. The Farian immediately looked apologetic.

"Look, this is all just a little misunderstanding between my sweetheart here," he said.

"I'm not his sweetheart!" the girl spat and the Farian squeezed her arm tightly. The Bolian bartender was immediately beside them and was hissing furiously. Chakotay was near enough to hear him.

"Settle this inside!"

The large Bolian helped the Farian push the girl back in but she struggled against the two men.

"Keep your mouth shut, you little tramp and do as told!" the Farian whispered steely told her. "I paid your fare, got you out of Bajoran space and had you settled in the cozy Federation. I expect to get my money's worth."

"I signed up to be the girl spinning the wheel. But I didn't leave the hell of Bajor just to be a whore in the Federation!" she shouted at him.

"Well then I can arrange for you to be a whore with the Cardassians where you belong!" he told her.

Chakotay could see the alien girl was stricken with panic. She stopped struggling for a moment but it was enough for the Farian to drag her back the few meters towards corridor leading to the inner room. But then she struggled again and managed to stomp on her captor's foot. The Farian however, didn't drop her but instead used his fist to strike at her face before he roughly dragged her again.

Chakotay's blood curled in horror at the brutal savagery of the man. He got up from his bar stool on the intent of stopping the man from dragging her inside. But someone already blocked their path. Chakotay saw the redheaded girl had abandoned her game and now stood defiantly in front of the Farian.

"I think you should let her go," the commanding voice of the young girl was surprising for her small stature.

The Farian stared at her surprise before his salesman smiled appeared again. "Little one, this is just a misunderstanding and there's nothing to see. Now run along."

But the redhead stood her ground. "Look, she obviously doesn't want to go back and you're hurting her."

"This is none of your business, Miss," the Farian said with a note of impatience in his voice. "My employee just needs a bit of discipline."

"Well your form of discipline isn't allowed here," the girl replied. She stared at him up and down as if assessing him. "And what exactly is the nature of your business? Prostitution is prohibited in the Federation."

The Farian gave an uneasy laugh as he realized the girl wasn't his only audience anymore. All the bar patrons had turned to look.

"Oh no, no, no. We run a bar that's all, a few games and a few holosuites. That's all. She's a waitress, and not a very good one," he added with a glare at the captive.

"A waitress you order to give sexual favors in the holosuite!" she spat back.

The Farian's answer was to squeeze her arm even harder that she let out a small cry.

"Stop it!" the redhead cried. She looked around helplessly around as if looking for someone to help her cause. However, none of the other patrons appeared to be overly concerned by the situation. In fact some of them already turned their attention back to the pool tables.

The Farian turned to her with an openly threatening tone: "I suggest you just go back to your game now Missy. This isn't any of your business." He tried to push past her while dragging the alien girl by his arm but the younger girl stubbornly refused to let him pass. He forcefully pushed past the redhead that she was knocked to the side. She quickly got up and followed the pair towards the corridor leading to the back room. Chakotay was suddenly afraid that the Farian was going to hit the younger girl just as he hit the alien. Without thinking Chakotay rushed and followed them towards the long corridor.

He found the Farian towering over the girl who again put herself in the way. "You're not taking her with you!" she said defiantly. "She has a right as a Federation citizen!"

"She isn't a Federation citizen," the Farian sneered before giving another vicious blow at the alien girl. It was so hard that Chakotay thought she might have lost consciousness altogether. "She's a refugee scum from the other side of the quadrant. Now get lost!"

"Well neither are you!" Chakotay exclaimed as he rushed to get between the younger girl and the Farian before he could do anymore damage. "Last time I checked Farius has no treaty with the Federation. You shouldn't even be able to operate business here. When I tell Starfleet—"

"You're not telling Starfleet anything," the Farian cut him. He pushed a button at the wall. The door that led to the back room suddenly burst open in two seconds and two enormous green-skinned men appeared. Chakotay gave a silent gulp in panic as he recognized them as Orion.

The Farian turned to them. "We're having a little problem with these kids," he told the Orion men.

Chakotay backed away but the younger girl slipped up in front of him and stared up at the two aliens. "Look, we can talk about this. I'm sure we can arrange…"

He thought the girl was either very brave or had no idea what kind of trouble they were in. He tried to pull the girl away with him but one of the Orion men grabbed her and lifted her as if she weighed no heavier than a pillow. He put a hand to her mouth to keep her from screaming. The other Orion enveloped Chakotay in a tight grip before he could make another move. They were both dragged into the busy inner room.

Chakotay managed a small scream before the Orion clamped a hand on his mouth. Not that his scream did any good. The room was too noisy from the players to have heard. And if anyone noticed the sight of three people being hauled helplessly by a pair of Orions, no one seemed to care.

"Get rid of them," the Farian ordered his henchmen. "But not here."

Chakotay's blood pounded in his ears as he realized how serious the situation was. These were cold blooded killers and he had no doubt they would not hesitate to phaser them to oblivion where there were no witnesses. He tried to reach for the combadge on his chest, but the Orion noticed it and ripped it away.

"You won't be needing that where you're going!" the Orion hissed before he threw his badge on the floor and squashed it with a stomp of his large boot.

They were brought to a side of the room away from the gaming tables. Chakotay saw it had a transporter pad at the center. He realized they were to be transported somewhere else where it would be harder for Starfleet to trace them if they went missing.

The Orions held them near the transporter pad. The Farian ordered him to set the coordinates. "The quarries for these two," he told him. "Then lock the Bajoran upstairs."

"No!"

Chakotay was startled that the alien girl seemed to have regained consciousness. She elbowed the Farian who bowled over in pain. He released her and she ran off without a backward glance out back to the pool hall and towards her freedom. That momentary distraction was what Chakotay needed to secure his own release by elbowing his captor. At the same time, the redhead bit the hand of her own captor. The Orion howled in pain but did not let her go. Chakotay gave him a kick to release her and he did.

They ran towards the center of the room towards the gaming tables, fully aware the Orions and Farian were giving chase. She led the way and they barreled through the crowd of gamers and waiters, knocking down several trays of illegal beverages.

He remembered the betting chips on the tables and suddenly had an idea for a distraction. He plowed through the crowd, grabbed as many chips as he could from the table and threw them in all directions. The girl seemed to realize what he was trying to do and followed his example.

Pandemonium broke out as gamers shouted complaints or scrambled to collect the fallen chips for their own. It effectively drowned out the shouts by the furious Farian.

They pushed past the maze of gamers in no particular direction. All Chakotay knew was that he wanted to get as far away from their attackers in one piece.

They came to the end of the room and saw a flight of stairs leading up to the second level. He briefly glanced back and saw that the Orions were only a few meters away and blocking their only known exit. There was no other way but up.

They climbed the stairs together. At the top, they found themselves in another dimly-lit long corridor with several rooms on each side.

"Where to now?" Chakotay asked the girl desperately. He could hear the stomping of feet and he knew their pursuers were only meters away.

"I think these are holosuites," she told him.

Before he could protest, the girl pulled him into the nearest one.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

The first thing Chakotay realized upon stepping into the room was the sound of shouts, grunts, and the clash of steel.

And then he came face to face with a Romulan.

For a moment the Romulan appeared to stare at him in shock, before a steel blade punctured its way out of his belly and sprayed Chakotay with warm green blood. The girl beside him gave a small scream but Chakotay was too horrified to even whimper. He watched as the curved steel blade retracted and the Romulan fell at his feet.

He stared at the dead Romulan's face before the girl uttered another cry that broke through his shock:

"Get down!"

He did as he was told a second before the blade swished past where his head had been before.

"Chay'pen Aha'ba? There are no humans in the battle of the Klach D'kel Brakt!"

Chakotay looked up to see the towering form of a large heavy set humanoid. His wild hair flew in all directions, his armor was covered in blood and his eyes blazed with the fury of a mad man. He smelled strongly of blood and alcohol. On his hands, he wielded his blood-stained bathleth as he swore coarsely in Klingon.

Chakotay needed no further warning. He took off running as fast as he could away from the Klingon with the girl leading in front of him. There was another scream behind him and he knew the Klingon he just met got momentarily distracted by another opponent. Yet they kept running in no particular direction. Thick smoke was wafting everywhere as there were fires rapidly burning all around them. They appeared to be in a small settlement in an arid sandy environment full of rocky hills that stretched farther than his eyes could see. It was nighttime but he could clearly see the few structures apart from the rocks for they were all up in a blaze so bright it was almost like daylight.

He abruptly stopped as he saw he was heading directly into the crossfire of three Romulans trading shots with another large Klingon. He saw the girl however, wasn't stopping and there was no time to warn her. He increased his speed and tackled her to the ground just as he felt beams whizzed above their heads. He tasted dirt combined with blood but there was no time to even spit. The Klingon gave a deafening war cry and charged towards them with his bathleth raised. Chakotay braced himself for the slash of the sharp steel and used his arms to instinctively protect the girl. Instead the Klingon leaped over them and went on to attack the three Romulans.

He felt his shirt being tugged and he got up. The girl pulled him to hide behind a large piece of broken stone that appeared to be once part of a wall from a collapsed building.

"It's a Klingon battle simulation!" she whispered fearfully.

Chakotay didn't need her explanation. He can see that quite clearly based on what he was witnessing. All around them were about half a dozen Klingons armed with bathleths were taking out what Chakotay hopefully thought were holographic Romulans. The sheer brutality of the carnage appalled him that for a moment he can do nothing but stare.

"I'm bleeding!" the girl gasped. He turned his attention back to her and saw that she was clutching her jaw. There was a cut on her upper lip where he figured she must have gotten when he tackled her.

"I'm sorry—" he began but she took his hand pointed at his knuckle. He saw that his finger was also trickling with red blood where he bruised it against a rough rock when he hit the ground.

"We're not supposed to bleed. This is just a simulation," she said. "Unless…" she gulped nervously. "The safeties must be off."

Chakotay didn't understand and shook his head.

"They turned off the safety protocols. That means if we get hit or shot we can get hurt and even die," she explained.

Chakotay just nodded. He already expected that he would. He had almost forgotten they were in the holosuite.

Suddenly an arch appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the battling Klingons a short distance away. Doors opened and revealed one of their Orion chasers. Chakotay and the girl ducked further behind to keep out of sight.

"We've got to get out of here," she whispered to him. "Hopefully those Klingons will keep them distracted for a while." She pulled something out of her pocket and he saw it was a Starfleet-issue combadge. She pressed it lightly.

"G-goldenbird to Daddy?" she said tentatively. She got nothing but static even after she tried thrice. "Something's interfering with communications." Chakotay saw panic fill her eyes. "I shouldn't have come here. I should have just stayed in," she said regretfully.

Chakotay wanted to comfort her but knew there was no time. He peered outside and saw that the Orion was currently having difficulty dodging the fighting Klingons and Romulans. But it would only be a matter of time before they were found. "He's coming. We've got to move now," he hissed. He pointed towards a short distance towards the edge of a small hill where large rocks offered some shade. She nodded and they quickly crept towards it.

Disruptor fire whizzed pass them as they did. One shot came as close as two inches from the girl. It blasted the rock next to her and rained shards on her arm. He saw her cringe in pain for only a moment but she kept her pace. They managed to reach their new shelter without further injuries.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She held out her arm and Chakotay gently took it to check.

"It's just a scratch," she said bravely.

Chakotay saw that it was true though he knew if they didn't get find a way to escape from this place soon enough the next close shave may no longer be as harmless. "Listen, we've got to get out of here by ourselves," he told her.

She nodded. "We can get out of the suite somehow by dodging. But we can't get out through the pool hall. They'll be sure to watch the door."

Chakotay was thinking of the exact same thing and frantically thought for an answer.

"If we get out of the suite we can transport out of here," she said. "We can use the transporter pad downstairs."

He thought that was a good option. But he had no idea how to operate a transporter pad. And even if he did, he had no idea what coordinates to set to get them out.

"Do you know how to set the controls?" he asked

"I can try."

Chakotay didn't find that reassuring. But he didn't have time to ponder about it. Suddenly the entire environment disappeared to be replaced by yellow grids against plain black walls. At the same time, Chakotay felt the green blood and dirt on his face suddenly become clear. He realized the program had shut down. They were left to face six armed Klingons and the Orion in the bare room.

The Orion immediately saw them. But before he could move, the Klingons faced him and began complaining in their brash tongue.

"Ar'ghot K'Nel D'kulluh!"

"Marg rah gol low! You dare interrupt the battle of Klach D'kel Brakt!"

"We had to shut down—" the Orion began to explain, but that seemed to infuriate the Klingons even more. They turned to the Orion in protest.

Chakotay saw his chance. He grabbed the girl's hand and they raced to the exit. He saw the Farian at the corridor blocking their way. To Chakotay's surprise the alien backed away. He realized why a moment later when he heard the growl of an annoyed Klingon behind him:

"Farian Kpekt!"

He turned around to shield the girl and felt the end blade of the furious Klingon cut through his skin near his right shoulder before it went on to do damage to the Farian.

Chakotay staggered at the sudden piercing pain. He felt his blood trickle and he thought that he would surely die. But the girl came to his side and put an arm around him.

"Come on!" she ordered in that demanding tone of hers. "We've got to go while they're distracted!"

He ignored the pain and forced himself to get up and match her pace.

They climbed down the stairs where the crowd was still in an uproar over the mess they made earlier with the chips. She led them towards the transporter pad and began pushing buttons at the controls.

Chakotay sank to his knees on the pad and checked his injury. His sleeve was seeped with blood from a large wound that began at the right side of his chest just below his collarbone up to his right shoulder. He realized it was only superficial and would be healed easily with a dermal regenerator. But where exactly was he to get one? If he survived getting out of this bar alive and managed to get back to the Mandela's sickbay the doctor would surely ask how he got the wound. He would be put on report and Captain Sulu would know he had been involved in a bar fight. He would disappoint Captain Sulu and maybe she would take back his sponsorship. He would lose chance of getting into Starfleet! And worst, he would be forced to come home back to Dorvan in disgrace! How could he face his father, his family and the rest of his tribe again?

A frustrated curse from the direction of the girl made him look back at her. He could tell she was having problems with the transporter controls. He realized if she couldn't figure out a way to get them out, he wouldn't have to be worried about disappointing Captain Sulu or being kicked out of the Academy even before he stepped into it.

"Cheap transporter pad! The controls are set to beam out only one person at a time!" she cried. "I can't get it to reset."

He gave her a panicked look and she appeared to think desperately for a second before her face brightened as if an idea crossed her mind. She punched a few more buttons on the controls before she stepped into the pad next to him. Before he could react, she shoved him out of the way to take his place where the transporter beam should be.

"Take this," she said as she pushed her combadge into his hand. "Move into the beaming zone, after I'm gone—"

That was all she said before she disappeared into a stream of light.

Chakotay moved to where she had been with a sudden sinking feeling.

She left him!

His anger overwhelmed his own despair at her betrayal. How could she leave him after he tried to help her?

He saw one of the Orions emerged from the crowd. He had a phaser in his hand and was headed right for transporter pad where Chakotay still stood. There was no where to go. He was trapped. The crowds parted and began moving away as they saw the Orion had a phaser aimed forward. The Orion fired. The beam of energy was bright red and Chakotay knew it was put at a high setting, possibly enough to dematerialize. He waited for the energy to hit him, but it didn't. Instead, he felt the tingle of a transporter beam envelop his body before the room faded away from his sight.

When his vision cleared he saw himself facing the redheaded girl in an unfamiliar darkened room. He saw her sigh with relief for a moment before her expression turned to horror.

"Oh no!" she cried before she turned away and covered her face with her hands as if his appearance frightened her.

Chakotay was terrified. She transported him to safety, he realized. But did his molecules all came back in one piece and in the right place?

He stared at his hands. He was still clutching the combadge. His hands looked normal enough. His gaze fell down his chest. It was still trickling with blood from his wounded shoulder, but otherwise it was normal. Downwards he could see his normal pair of legs and bare…

Suddenly he realized what exactly was wrong. Yes, his whole body was transported back safely in one piece. But apparently that was the only thing that was transported back along with the combadge.

There wasn't a stitch of clothing on him!

***

_A/N: Just a few notes again:_

_The Battle of Klach D'kel Brakt was a famous Klingon Battle against the Romulan Star Empire in 2271. Quark actually had a program that ran this simulation in DS9. In one episode, Odo shut down this program after Quark asked him for help with the drunk Kor who had been at the suite for hours. I borrowed Kor's Klingon curses during that episode for this chapter._

_As for Chakotay's rather embarrassing predicament, I didn't make that up. There is a basis for this in canon. In the Episode "In The Flesh" Chakotay mentioned to Valerie (a.k.a Species 8472) that he once had an experience with a faulty transport. His clothes ended up in the buffer and he was beamed in with nothing on but his combadge. _


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

His mortification at this situation made him forget all about his injuries. He suddenly wished that Orion had dematerialized him when he had the chance.

The girl backed away with her hands still covering her face. Then she ran away and entered a door to his left. He could see that it appeared to be a bedroom. She frantically pulled out the bedcovers. She tossed it to him without looking in his direction. Chakotay didn't need to be told and used the sheet to wrap it around his waist. He saw that he appeared to be in a sizable living room. A large comfortable couch was nearby. He sat down at it, aware again of the pain that was still throbbing at his shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry…" she said shakily. Her face still avoided making contact with him. "I think the pattern buffer malfunctioned. Or maybe I didn't set it right. It might have misread your clothes. I had to get it to recognize the combadge pattern five seconds after I transported… I didn't mean… I'm sorry…" she rambled in obvious embarrassment for a moment before she stopped and seemed to remember his injury.

"You're hurt," she said. She came forward and stared at his bloodied chest, though she refused to meet his eyes.

"It's not deep," Chakotay told her. Now that they were safe for the moment, he could assess his injury wasn't too bad. He had far worse injuries than these in the past in his tribe. He pressed the end of the sheet in an effort to stop the bleeding.

However, the seeping blood on the white sheet appeared to alarm her even further. "You need a doctor," she said. "I'll take you. We're at the Starfleet complex. We have a clinic here."

His fears returned in full force. They may have been safe from the Orions but now he was in the next worst place possible. He couldn't go for treatment at a Starfleet clinic!

"No! I can't!"

"They'll treat anyone" the girl assured him. "I'll… I'll take care of it. My daddy's in Starfleet."

That was the last thing Chakotay needed. He imagined this girl's father was a captain or perhaps even an admiral. He would want to check on his daughter and this boy she picked up to be treated. He would find out he was a new recruit that just got involved in a bar fight barely twenty four hours out of the Mandela. That was hardly a good impression for a would-be cadet. He would tell Captain Sulu and she would be embarrassed for sponsoring him. Chakotay could just picture the disappointment in her expression. He couldn't face that!

The girl stood up to go, or perhaps to call for help. He grabbed at her arm so hard she was forced to sit next to him.

"No you can't!" You can't tell anyone!"

"But you're hurt! You're bleeding. It might be serious!"

He shook his head. "I can't let you! I can't go to a Starfleet clinic or to anyone Starfleet!"

"Why not?" she demanded.

He knew she was just trying to convince him how serious she thought the situation was but her manner of speaking irritated him even more. He lashed out at her: "You don't understand what's at stake here! I'm not like you! I don't have a family in Starfleet to back me up. I'll lose my chance at Starfleet if anyone finds out I was in a fight in some prohibited bar! I gave up everything for this! I turned my back on my tribe for this! I can't go back there and tell them I lost my chance because I got kicked out for fighting! I CAN'T!"

She looked taken aback. Her lip quivered before she asked in almost a whisper. "Y-you're a Starfleet cadet?"

He breathed deeply to calm himself. "I will be. I just got accepted. I'm on my way to San Francisco with my sponsor. Off-worlders like me don't have much of a chance, you know. I took a chance and I got in. I can't lose it now," he said bitterly.

She bit her lip and she remained silent for a long time as if contemplating his words. Her expression remained troubled.

He continued to press the sheet against his injured skin and they appeared to be helping a little. "The wound isn't deep. I just need to bind it."

"Let me see," she finally spoke. Her hands shook as she gently lifted the sheet to uncover and examine his wounds. She sighed in relief. "I think a dermal regenerator can heal it. I think we have one." She stood up and rummaged through a small cabinet shelf near the wall.

He took the time to look around. They were in a rather large living room with an adjoining dining room. On the left were two bedroom doors. There was a door to the right he assumed that led outside. There were two windows in the room but the blinds were closed so he couldn't see outside. Even with the dimmed lights, he could see everything was rather opulent even by Starfleet standards. He knew exactly where he was: the exclusive Starfleet officers' quarters.

She came up with a standard Starfleet issue medkit. She found the dermal regenerator easily. She sat back down and aimed it at his wounds in silence.

"Thank you," Chakotay said to her to relieve the awkward quiet.

"You're welcome," she replied softly without meeting his gaze.

He realized how close she was. He could smell the sweet scent of her hair and count the freckles on her nose. There was an ugly bruise that was forming on her right cheek where the Farian had hit her earlier. He thought how easily she had gotten up after that blow though it must have hurt. He admired her for it.

He was startled when she glanced up at him. It was only for a split second before her eyes averted quickly. A faint blush crept up her cheeks and made her freckles stand out even more. Chakotay thought she was almost pretty.

"Done," she said as she put the regenerator down. She made a move to stand up but Chakotay grasped her arm gently.

"Wait, you're hurt too."

He half expected her to shake his hand off but she didn't. He took the regenerator, turned it on and began running it across her cheek and down to her cut lip. She submitted to it without a word, though she still refused to look at him directly.

"Your arms as well," he said when her cheek healed. He noticed the Orion's grip had also left a few marks on her arms along with the cuts she got when the Klingon disruptor hit the rock near her at the holosuite.

She jumped up and moved away from him. "I'll do it."

There was nothing to do but to hand her the regenerator. She was careful not to let his fingers touch hers. He watched her apply it on herself self-consciously. He couldn't think of anything to say. He was always comfortable talking to people in general, even strangers. It was he who came up first to greet Captain Sulu and the rest of her crew when they first came to visit his tribe. Though they were intimidating, he was never one to get tongue tied even among older aliens. But this girl was even younger than he. He suspected she was already half-afraid of him. And yet he was afraid of offending or frightening her even more. He wondered why her opinion of him mattered so much.

"Thank you." He was startled when she broke the silence. "I mean for helping me. And I'm sorry for… well…"

Chakotay was glad she decided to leave that last sentence hanging instead of spelling it out. He was suddenly well aware again that he wasn't wearing anything but a bedsheet. The awkwardness of the situation was so tense, Chakotay would have gotten up and left the room, except that he had no idea how to get out of this room without any clothes on.

The girl seemed to realize the situation. "I'll get you something."

She scampered to one of the bedrooms again like a frightened little mouse. She returned seconds later with a Starfleet dress uniform set, neatly pressed and covered in a garment casing.

"You can use the refresher," she pointed to a door between the rooms. She quickly left him again to hide in one of the bedrooms.

He did as she told him. He used the sonic shower to remove all traces of sweat and blood before he held up the clothes she gave him. It was a complete set from boxers to tank up to the trousers and formal dress jacket. They were all too big for him. No doubt they were her father's. The command red jacket was a dead giveaway. There was a Starfleet insigne on the jacket. He recognized the rank bar as that of a vice admiral.

He paused to admire it. There were three little golden pips surrounded by the rectangular gold bar. He noticed one of the little pips had a slight chip to it but it wasn't big enough to be noticeable when one wore it against the red of the uniform.

He longed for an insigne like this. And he vowed to work as hard as he can to earn it.

He felt uncomfortable putting on someone else's clothes but he didn't have much choice. He wished he could just replicate some other garments but he was too embarrassed to ask to use her replicator. There were no shoes either. He settled on putting on just the slacks and turtleneck for outer clothing. It didn't seem appropriate to put on the jacket as well with the Starfleet Admiral's insigne still attached to them. He felt it was almost a sacrilege to wear something with a rank that didn't belong to him, at least not yet. He carefully replaced the jacket back into the hanger and emerged with it from the refresher.

He found her pacing in the living room. She looked up at him. For a moment she stared at him as if mesmerized before she seemed to get a hold of her senses. She turned away and blushed again.

"Thank you," he said as he laid the jacket on the couch. She didn't respond and he thought there was nothing else to do but leave. "I—I guess I should be going now." He headed towards the front door.

"Wait!" she cried out.

He turned back eagerly.

"I—ah—" she stammered as she stared at his feet before she looked at him for the first time. Her expression showed obvious distress. "You can't go out there in bare feet," she murmured quickly. She hurried over to the replicator and ordered a pair of boots.

"Specify size," the computer answered.

She turned to him and he told her his size. She repeated it for the computer. It produced his new boots and she handed it over to him.

"Thank you," he muttered. He realized how pathetic their conversation was going. They had been saying 'thank you' to each other all night and it was going no where. He didn't want to walk out that door without exchanging more than polite niceties to her after what they've been through together.

He took his time putting the new boots as he composed himself.

"Why don't you sit in the couch for a minute while you put it on," she said.

He did as she said. "Thank—" he almost said but stopped himself in time. "Why don't you join me?" he asked rather boldly.

She hesitated but then sat down a distance from him. But she was up again in a moment. "Can I get you something? Coffee?" she asked as she headed off to the nearby replicator.

He was tempted to say "clothes" but he didn't want to refer to his previous lack of them. Besides, she went to the trouble of getting him her father's. He didn't want to sound ungrateful.

"Tea would be nice," he said as he finished lacing his new boots.

"What kind?" she asked.

Chakotay realized that unlike back at his tribe where there was only one kind of tea available according to what his mother had in the pantry, the replicator had probably hundreds of tea varieties in its databank. He had discovered that when he had his first meal on the Mandela and had been questioned repeatedly by the replicator at the mess hall to specify further. He didn't want to sound ignorant around this girl that he hadn't used a replicator until a few days ago. He searched his mind for something alien and exotic.

"Uhhmm… Tarkalean," he muttered and prayed to all the spirits that it didn't taste as bad as the raktajino.

"Okay." She turned to the replicator. "Computer, one cup Tarkalean tea and one cup plain coffee, black."

The cups materialized and she brought both over. The beverage looked harmless enough. It didn't smell bad either. It had a rather pleasant scent.

"I'm glad you came to help with that girl," she said. "Do you think she got away alright?"

He sipped at his tea carefully and was pleased that it wasn't at all bad. In fact he rather liked it. "I hope so. I could ask some friends in Starfleet to check just to be sure. Maybe even report about the illegal gaming house at the back."

"You'd do that?" she asked, uncertainly. "Report it to Starfleet?"

Chakotay considered it and remembered his own equal predicament. "Of course, but maybe not all the details of my involvement."

"Y-you won't tell anyone about me will you? My dad doesn't know I go out to the pool halls." She looked like a frightened child again.

"I don't know your father," he admitted.

She seemed to sigh with relief. Chakotay realized she was afraid of her father finding out about her own involvement in a bar fight. She was willing to keep this little incident to herself.

"I won't tell anyone if you won't," he offered.

She smiled and nodded her assent. He watched her sip her coffee carefully. Chakotay thought she looked even prettier when she did.

She looked up at him and Chakotay felt embarrassed that he was caught staring. He took another sip of his tea to cover it up.

"I'm sorry for hustling you," she said after a long awkward silence.

Chakotay looked up. "I paid for your coffee and now you got me tea. I think we're even. I think I even owe you for getting us out."

"I got you into trouble in the first place. I didn't know what I was thinking throwing myself in front of that alien," she said.

He shook his head. "I might have done it if you hadn't beaten me to it. You were right. Federation citizen or not, that girl didn't deserve to be treated that way. Do you know where she's from?"

She shook her head. "She mentioned Bajor or something. I haven't heard of it."

"Me either. I haven't come across anything like her in my readings," he told her. He liked where this conversation was going at least. He was immensely interested in different cultures and he read about them every chance he got. He was glad she had an interest in them too.

"The Farian mentioned something about the Cardassians," she said. "I heard my dad talk about them. I don't think they're too friendly. They seem to worry Starfleet quite a bit."

"Oh I know about the Cardassians," he told her. "I've never seen one. But their race has borders near my home planet. I've heard the Starfleet personnel say they're deceptive and cruel. That's why Starfleet keeps patrolling the area, just to keep them in check."

"I think my dad mentioned something about the Federation settling a peace treaty with them. You think there'd be one?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. I really don't know but from what I hear, it may be difficult. The Cardassians don't seem to be the kind to cooperate and have friendly relations."

She sipped her coffee again and appeared to consider what he said. "Perhaps they will someday," she said wistfully.

"You don't sound convinced?" Chakotay asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know I just get a bad feeling with them."

"I'm sure the Federation can work something out," he said confidently. "I mean what's one race for the Federation to deal with?"

It was her turn to shrug. They lapsed into silence again.

"Where'd you learn to play pool?" Chakotay finally asked.

"Some of my dad's friends taught me," she replied. "I got good at it but my dad's friends deliberately let me win because they think I'm a little girl and their boss' daughter. So I come to pool halls to look for a challenge."

"And your dad doesn't know?" he teased.

She shook her head. "No, he doesn't. I go to pool halls on Earth where no one knows me. I live in a small town so I use the transporters to go to the next city. I tinker with the school transporters to mask my beam in coordinates and I manage a time delay to beam me back. That's how I know how to set the transporter to get us out."

Chakotay thought she didn't know them enough to beam another person's clothes along but decided to hold his tongue. He didn't want to be reminded of his earlier predicament. Yet he liked her audaciousness. He decided she was the kind of Starfleet brat that would enter Starfleet by getting into the academy instead of marrying into it.

"I heard Mars had a few interesting pool halls. It's the first time I've been in one of the halls here," she said. "How about you?"

"It's the first time I've ever been to Mars."

"And I get you into trouble at the first instance," she said as she bit her lip guiltily which made her mouth form that small pout he found utterly adorable.

"It was worth it getting to know you," he blurted out without thinking. He immediately wished he hadn't said it.

But she gave him a smile instead and moved closer to him on the couch. "I'm glad to know you too." She turned her face away again. "I… I saw you earlier outside the Starfleet complex after we disembarked," she admitted.

So she did notice him. "You remembered me," he stated. He felt emboldened by her admission that perhaps she was as drawn to him as he was to her. He moved even closer to her. "You didn't seem to act like it at the bar."

She didn't answer but her reddening cheeks were answer enough.

"I saw you too," he told her. "It's hard not to notice the hair."

"Oh… this," she said softly. She self-consciously twirled a stray lock of her auburn hair with her finger. "I guess you don't have many redheads where you come from?"

"No," he said even more softly. "You're only the second person I've seen with this shade." He couldn't help but stare at the out of place lock. He reached out and tucked it behind her ear just as she looked up to meet his gaze.

His breath hitched. He stared at her lips and wondered what they would feel on his. He had never kissed a girl in his life. He often stared at some pretty girls in his tribe but he never found them interesting enough. They had no ideas or stories to tell aside from their daily domestic preoccupations or from what they learned from the tribe's repetitive history. They live in submissive modesty all their lives. But this little rebellious girl was so different. She excited him.

"Who was the first?" she asked though her eyes never tore away from his.

"Lieutenant O'Hara," he said. "Do you know her?"

She shook her head but he could tell she barely heard his answer or failed to understand it. He noticed her gaze also strayed to his lips. He felt a surge of confidence. He was deliberating on how to kiss her when she made the decision for him by closing the gap between them.

***

_A/N: In honor of Valentine's Day, I hope you all enjoyed this little J/C romance.  
_

_And again another one of my historical notes: I figured at this age , Chakotay wouldn't have heard of Bajor yet although he would know about the Cardassians since he did live in the demilitarized zone—that area in between the territories of the Cardassian Union and the Federation. I figured at this age Chakotay still has a lot of confidence in the Federation to flesh out the Cardassian problem. _

_As for Janeway, in Mosaic, it was mentioned that at age 14 she heard about the Cardassians from her father but didn't understand the full implications of the political tension they had with the Federation. _


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

It was just a slight peck. Her lips only brushed his for a split second before she pulled back and stared down in embarrassment. Still, it left him tingling inside and he couldn't leave it at that. He put a finger to lift her chin to his level then kissed her back. He didn't exactly know what to do but she took over by pressing back against him.

Chakotay was just starting to enjoy the feel of her lips when he was startled with a loud beep.

"Daddy to Goldenbird," came the disembodied warm voice of a man.

The girl pulled back immediately. She stood up from the couch and began searching frantically on the floor.

"Goldenbird… come in," the voice said more urgently.

Chakotay stood as well. When he did, she dived for the combadge that had fallen near where he was sitting. She pressed on it quickly.

"H-here Daddy," she said.

"Where are you?" the man at the other end asked with a note of worry. "I'm at a restaurant and I just met with the O'Connells. I thought you said you were going to be with them. Your friend Mary said you never even joined them this afternoon."

"I'm just in our quarters Daddy," she replied. "I never left. I was just reading."

Chakotay marveled at the way this girl could lie so easily on her whereabouts. But when he thought about how he deceived his own father for months about Captain Sulu, he felt a certain affinity for her.

"Alright, I'll be there in five minutes. How about a late snack together?"

Her face registered complete panic as she stared at Chakotay. Chakotay felt his own heart hammer. He felt as if the clothes he was wearing were suddenly constricting even though they sagged around him.

"Sweetheart?" the man's voice called again.

"I-I'm here Daddy. Okay, I'll see you later," she said rather hurriedly then terminated the line. "You've got to get out of here," she told him frantically. She picked up her father's fallen jacket and thrust it at him. "Here!"

Chakotay shook his head at the jacket. He was already wearing her father's underwear. He wasn't going to put on anything more that belonged to her father when that man was about to walk in on them and find out he was kissing his daughter.

"Put it on now!" she ordered in that commanding tone she used earlier on the Farian. "You'll look suspicious without it when you walk through the corridors."

Chakotay thought the sight of a teenage boy wearing a sagging Admiral's uniform was suspicious enough but he didn't dare argue with her tone. He put it on as ordered. But when it came to buttoning them down his clumsy fingers couldn't find the right holes. Suddenly she slapped his hands away, grabbed both ends of the jacket and began fastening them herself. He realized it would be faster if she let him do it so he stood as still as possible and let her hands do the buttons down his chest. It felt odd being dressed this way by this girl but he couldn't help but feel a tingle of pleasure at the idea.

Finally, she finished by affixing her combadge to the right side of his chest. She paused to look at him and he noticed her eyes seem to linger all over his chest as if she enjoyed seeing him in that uniform. But then she pulled away and went to the door. He followed after. The door barely opened when she pushed him back hard against the wall. Her hand stayed firmly on his chest effectively preventing him from moving another step.

"Oh, good evening Admiral," she said to someone outside.

"Good evening, my dear. I just saw your Daddy coming up."

"Yes, he's taking me out for some ice cream," she replied quickly. "Turning in sir?" she asked.

"Yes, well—"

"Oh goodnight then." She pulled back and pushed the panel on the wall to shut the door quickly.

"Drat!" she whispered to him. "I hope he goes in soon."

They were silent for what seemed like a long time. Chakotay's heart felt like it was set at warp speed. He knew from the girl's trembling hand that still held his chest, that she felt the same.

"Computer," she whispered to the room after what seemed like an eternity. "Is Admiral Finnegan still in the corridor?"

"Affirmative," the computer replied.

Chakotay held his breath. What if that admiral didn't leave before her father returned?

"Emergency hatch," she whispered to him. Before he could react, she was dragging him by the arm to one of the bedrooms. On one side hidden by the large wardrobe was a small panel. She hit a few buttons and a hidden door opened to reveal what appeared to be a tunnel similar to the Jeffries' tubes inside the Mandela. Chakotay realized that the high-ranking officers' quarters were equipped with a way to escape during emergency situations.

"It leads towards the fire escape on the south wing. Avoid the lobby, go down to the basement then take the route through the maintenance offices on the left," she told him.

"Thank you," he told her as he got in. He realized he didn't even know her name and he definitely wanted to see her again. "What's your—"

He never got to finish the question. He heard a swish of the door opening and he knew her father had just come in. She almost shoved him through the tunnel and shut the door. There was nothing more to do but to crawl forward into the dimly lit tunnel. It wasn't long before it ended just as she said into a fire escape. He went down the stairwell until he reached the basement. He took the left that led to the maintenance offices where thankfully the corridors were empty. He wondered if she had used this similar route to get out of her father's quarters.

He found a door that opened out directly to a deserted alley where the exhaust machines for the building were. He knew at once he was home free from there but he spent several minutes lingering at the side of the building. He wished he had more time to spend with her. She was by far the most interesting girl he had ever met. He touched his fingers to his lips and remembered the feel of her kiss. He hoped to find some way of seeing her again.

He remembered it was late and he had not reported back to the Mandela as the captain had told him. He should get back before anyone worried about him.

The ops building was only a short distance away but unfortunately he realized he had to pass by the conference center to get there. Captain Sulu was attending the convention there. Chakotay prayed to whatever gods his father worshipped that she would still be in conference when he passed by.

Unfortunately, when he got there, he found no such luck. A large crowd was outside the center with the delegates on break milling outside. There were reporters scattered all around shouting questions to some of the delegates while tourists and other onlookers were everywhere craning their necks to see what the commotion was about. He spotted Captain Sulu in one corner but she was too busy with reporters to notice him. He quickly ducked out of sight and found himself next to a large rather noisy crowd. They were shouting and holding up signs that said: "No to Relocation!" or "We will not give up our homes!"

"Hey you!" one placard-holding man tapped him on the shoulder. "You're a Starfleet officer, aren't you?"

Chakotay said nothing but the man barged on:

"Why don't you tell those policy makers of ours to listen to us for once? We don't care about those cozy little planets they're offering. We just want to live where we are. Your job is to make sure those Cardassians leave us alone."

Chakotay realized what this was all about. He had heard about the relocation plans for the colony planets near the Cardassian border. His people were among those that Starfleet was trying to convince to relocate as well. He knew his tribe refused to agree to relocating. They had lived for generations on Dorvan V and they weren't about to abandon the planet they found so compatible with their spirituality just because of some rumor about the Cardassians amassing a military force. Personally, Chakotay didn't mind relocating. There were so many planets in Federation space, he was sure there had to be at least one that conformed to his tribe's spiritual compatibility requirement. And it wouldn't hurt if it wasn't so far away from Earth where the base of Starfleet was. But he couldn't really say that to this protesting man and he didn't want to draw attention to himself. So he quickly excused himself instead in what he thought would be the best way possible:

"Don't worry we'll try to work out something," he reassured the man then made a hasty retreat away from the dissident crowd.

He realized that if he wanted to go to ops the shortest route was to pass by as close as possible to door of the conference center—right next to where Captain Sulu was. He realized he would have a lot of explaining to do if she saw him in an Admiral's dress uniform. So instead he skirted away from the crowd of delegates and protesters by taking the longer route pass the main entrance gate of the complex. As he did, he was startled when he felt someone suddenly grab him by the shoulder.

"It's you!" he heard a female voice say to him.

He froze and his heart sank. Someone recognized him and he would have to explain why exactly he was wearing an unauthorized uniform. But when he turned to look he found himself looking at the familiar face of the alien woman he met at the bar. Her eyes look harrowed and there were smudges of dirt on the thin revealing costume she was wearing. People were starring at her oddly no doubt due to her attire.

"Please help me," she begged him. "I've run away and it's only a matter of time before they find me. I have no place to go. I can't go back to that bar or to Bajor. You don't know what it's like back home."

Chakotay didn't know, but he had a clue from her frightened expression. He remembered the Farian mentioned that she wasn't a Federation citizen but a refugee. But Chakotay also knew that the Federation charter had a provision that offers asylum to persecuted individuals, even if they weren't Federation citizens. But he had no clue how to help her get that sanctuary. He stood beside her helplessly for a long time.

"Chakotay?" a familiar voice came from behind and he saw Sommers. "You're late. I was about to come out and look for you. We lost your sig—" he stopped as he saw and recognized the girl. Sommers gave Chakotay a look that showed he was clearly impressed. "Whoa! How much exactly did you win at pool?" He paused again as he took in Chakotay's uniform. "What did you do? Beat an Admiral so badly he gave you his uniform?"

Chakotay felt his cheeks go warm. "It's sort of a long story."

"Well I definitely want to hear it," said Sommers.

Chakotay decided he would have to be honest with Sommers if he wanted his help. "Alright I'll tell you, but first you have to help me help her." He quickly explained the alien woman's situation to his friend.

"Alright, I'll take her to social services," Sommers said. "You go back to the Mandela and wait for me. But when I get back, you owe me a story on how you got that uniform."

Chakotay winced slightly at that but agreed. He knew he could count on Sommers to keep his secret. Although it would be rather embarrassing to tell him how he ended up naked in the exclusive officers' quarters with a strange girl.

"And just to make sure you do get there without arousing suspicion…" Sommers continued. He pressed his combadge. "Sommers to Mandela."

"_Mandela here,"_ came the disembodied voice of the operations officer.

"I found our new recruit. Lock on to my transport signal and beam him directly to his quarters."

"_Did he get into trouble?"_ the operations officer asked in a rather condescending voice that made Chakotay wince.

"That's what I'm going to find out," Sommers said as he grinned cheekily at Chakotay. "Make sure he stays in quarters until I get back. I need to take care of something first. Sommers out."

Sommers gave him another grin. "Don't worry, I promise not to tell anyone but you have to tell me everything."

Chakotay nodded before he felt the tingle of the transporter beam.

He reappeared directly into his quarters. He quickly undressed and tossed the uniform into the recycler before anyone found out and questioned him how he acquired them. However, he couldn't bear to recycle the Admiral's insigne. He kept it, in case he met the redheaded girl again. He also kept the combadge to replace the one he lost.

Sommers appeared half an hour later and reported that the Bajoran girl whose name was Jom Anjal filed for asylum and was accepted by Federation social services as a refugee. Chakotay was relieved that she was at least safe and free. He then told Sommers everything about the bar fight and how they got out through transporter. He however left out his embarrassing predicament with the transporter and made it appear that the redhead only lent him her father's uniform so he wouldn't raise suspicion when he walked in the corridors of the officer's quarters.

"So what's her name?" Sommers asked when he finished the tale.

Chakotay shook his head. "I don't know, I forgot to ask."

Sommers shook his head. "Well we still have two days, we can ask around—"

They were interrupted by a general announcement through the comm system by the captain.

"_All officers to their stations. Chakotay to the ready room please."_

They both went their separate ways. Chakotay made his way to the turbolifts with his heart hammering. Did Captain Sulu see him near the conference center? Was she calling him in now for questioning? The insigne weighed heavily in his pocket. He decided if worst comes to worst, he would tell her the truth and give that insigne back to who it belonged.

By the time the doors of the ready room opened Chakotay was ready with a rehearsed explanation that he was almost startled with Captain Sulu's warm greeting.

"Ah, Chakotay. How was your day? I hope you got to see a lot of the sights."

There was no disapproval in her voice. No indication that she was angry or disappointed. In fact she sounded just as pleased as she was as usual with him. He realized she knew nothing. Even the fact that he reported late to the Mandela did not reach her.

"Oh yes Captain, it was very enjoyable. I had quite an experience," he said evenly though he knew it was the biggest understatement he ever made.

"I'm glad. I'm afraid though that we have to cut your little tour short. We had an urgent development occurring near the Cardassian border and the Mandela needs to be there. We'll stop by earth for a quick briefing and to drop you off at the Academy."

Chakotay's heart sank as he remembered the redheaded girl. "What time do we leave, Captain?"

"Half an hour from now. I'm sorry Chakotay but you will have plenty of time to explore Mars in the future as a cadet. You will be stationed there several times I assure you."

Chakotay nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Captain."

"You're welcome. Dismissed cadet."

There was nothing to do but step out of the room. As he did he felt extremely disappointed that he missed the chance to find out the redheaded girl's name.


	7. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

When he first settled into the Academy, Chakotay wanted to find out who was the redheaded girl that gave him his first kiss. But he didn't have much clue to go on except for her family nickname 'Goldenbird' and that she knew a certain Admiral Finnegan. He wasn't so bold and stupid as to ask the admiral directly. Sommers remained for months on the Mandela as it continued to patrol the borders near Cardassia and so he was no help to him in finding her. Chakotay never dared tell anyone else about his experience.

Gradually, the excitement of Chakotay's days in the academy made him forget about her. When he met Sveta, his fantasies of the pretty redhead eventually faded to be replaced by the Russian blond beauty that eventually became his first girlfriend. However, he did keep insigne in a box throughout his academy years and even later as a Starfleet officer. Eventually, he even forgot about that little keepsake and it remained buried among his other possessions.

He met with Jom Anjal, the Bajoran girl he helped rescue, several times during his days as a cadet. She found a job as a waitress at a restaurant near the Academy and Chakotay often stopped by to see her whenever possible. They remained good friends for years and she eventually married Sommers and moved back with him to his home planet Sierra to raise a family. When the Cardassians obliterated the population of the planets in the demilitarized zone, Sommers' and Anjal's deaths were among those Chakotay mourned alongside his family.

Chakotay rediscovered the admiral's insigne when he cleaned up his belongings just after he resigned his commission before joining the Maquis. Somehow he couldn't throw it away like the dozens of souvenirs he had. It reminded him of the first time he decided to risk his own dreams of a Starfleet career by being involved in a fight to help someone in need. It seemed appropriate and almost prophetic that his principles would again push him to do the same.

He kept the insigne securely pinned to the inside of his vest the whole time he was a Maquis. It reminded him of what he gave up when he resigned to join a rebellion out of principle. He knew he would never get an Admiral's insigne and he felt it was the closest thing he could ever have of a dream unfulfilled.

When he gave up his ship to save Voyager, the insigne was one of the few possessions he saved since it was pinned to his vest at that time. He took it off when he resumed the first officer's uniform but he kept it in a box.

And now he was holding it again to lend to his best friend on the ceremony of his promotion to admiralship.

As he walked back to his ready room, he thought maybe he would give Kathryn the insigne if she couldn't find hers. He could tell her his story after the ceremony. He wondered why he never got around to telling her about it.

He reached the ready room where Kathryn was now sitting comfortably with a smile on her face.

"I found it!" she greeted him. "It was wedged under one of the desk legs. Where did you go?"

Chakotay shook his head, feeling a bit disappointed that she wouldn't need his insigne after all. But he decided to show her anyway.

"I have an extra insigne I thought you could borrow." He held it up between his thumb and index finger.

She gave him a curious look but she approached him to peer into it. "Is that an Admiral's insigne? Where did you get one?"

"It's a long story," he said as he dropped the article into her palm. "I'll tell you after the ceremony. Now we really should go."

But Kathryn didn't move. She held the insigne on her palm. Her fingertips caressed it as she stared at it carefully. A strange look passed her face.

"Chakotay, where did you get this?" her voice was a strangled cry.

"Kathryn, I told you it's a long story…"

"No, tell me!" she demanded. "Who gave this to you?"

Chakotay was surprised at the question that she correctly assumed it was given to him and not by any other means that he could have acquired it.

"I don't really know. A girl I met years ago, decades even. I was only a teenager then—"

He stopped as Kathryn came forward and stared at his face as if she was studying his features for a long moment before her mouth dropped open in wonder as if she just realized something.

"It was you…" she gasped.

"Kathryn?"

He gaze shifted from his face to the insigne in her hand then back to him. "I gave this to you."

He gave her a puzzled look.

"This was my father's. I recognized it because I chipped it on the day I pinned it to his collar when he was promoted to Vice Admiral."

It was his turn to stare wildly at her as his memories began to take form and suddenly it was so clear. The mysterious redhead who gave him his first kiss. It was her.

"Kathryn, I never realized…"

She shook her head. "Neither did I… Chakotay…" She suddenly looked shy to him and he could see the spark of that vulnerable girl he met that night decades ago. "Oh you wouldn't believe how scared I was. I didn't know what I was more afraid of—my father finding out I was in a bar fight or him finding you. He went looking for his uniform and his missing insigne that night and I pretended I accidentally threw it in the recycler."

He laughed as he imagined the young Kathryn lying through her teeth to save him.

She smiled shyly at him as if she was remembering that night.

"But was I the first?" he asked as he eyed her lips.

"You mean my first kiss?" she asked. He nodded and she frowned at him. "Of course you were the first. What do you think of me? I was only thirteen then."

He pretended to look surprise. "Only thirteen and you were out betting in pool halls, getting into bar fights and kissing strange boys? Why Miss Janeway, you're a wild one!"

She playfully slapped him. "I was almost fourteen. And you're one to talk. You were in that fight too."

"I was seventeen! That's a four year difference! And you were the one that challenged that Farian in the first place," he exclaimed. "But even then you were the first girl I ever kissed."

"Really?" she asked with genuine surprise. "I thought you were a lot more experienced than I was then."

He shook his head. "No, you were the first." He suddenly grew serious as he drew her closer. "And now you're the last." He pulled her face up to his but their combadges chirped before their lips met.

"_Kim to Janeway and Chakotay. We need you at the Bridge. We're starting now."_

"On our way, Harry," Chakotay responded. "He's not a Captain yet but he's already ordering."

"_I heard that."_ Harry's voice admonished.

Kathryn rolled her eyes but she responded gratefully. "And we're proud of you Captain Kim. Janeway out." He turned back to the man that held her. "We'll continue this conversation later."

"Looking forward to it, Goldenbird."

She punched him lightly on the shoulder where he remembered he once obtained a wound years ago because of her. She seemed to remember it too for she traced an invisible line with her finger where she remembered he had the wound. She then took his offered arm and they strode together out the room and into the bridge where most of the Voyager crews—both hers and his were gathered at the bridge to watch the celebration.

When the Starfleet official handed Kathryn a box that contained his new insigne, he suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia. This was truly a dream come true for him, and yet he no longer found the pristine new insigne appealing. He stopped her just as she was about to pin it on his collar.

"I don't want that," he whispered to her.

Kathryn gave him a puzzled look.

"Can I have your father's instead?"

Kathryn smiled and fished the old worn out and chipped insigne. He felt her fingers lightly touch his as she pinned it on. She saluted him and he saluted back, beaming at her.

Her eyes softened and he felt her admiration, pride and love as he felt the comfort of the insigne on his collar that bound them together for years.


End file.
